Leisa loves collaborating with NTFs (and aspiring) on innovative, immersive and inclusive resources utilising novel technologies. During the Covid pandemic, with 2 other forensic science NTFs, they co-created an international Criminal Justice network to support practitioners, HE and FE colleagues with online learning. Having delivered HE in FE, Leisa champions FE colleagues, to celebrate their unique perspective, in enriching the NTF community. Additionally, Leisa is proud to be neurodiverse and supports colleagues with disabilities.
Active experiential learning is at the heart of Leisa’s forensic science teaching in numerous arenas (institutional, national, international), via multi-modal delivery. Students engage with this unique learning experience involving bespoke online resources, reconstructed cases from an extensive career history, co-creation research opportunities and novel immersive technologies, underpinned by e-portfolios.
Leisa’s journey to DMU and her Forensic Science career began in 2000 within the Home Office at the world-renowned Forensic Science Service within a case-work unit, undertaking laboratory examinations of exhibits recovered from crime scenes and attending court when requested, for the United Kingdom Criminal Justice Sector (UKCJS). To this day, Leisa continues as a Forensic Scientist Consultant, Advisor, Auditor and Researcher. This practitioner background has been integral in shaping her approaches to communicating the subject as a trainer, mentor, coach, facilitator, instructor and lecturer. Despite initially experiencing feelings of imposter syndrome when she first entered academia in 2011, this career expertise has actually resulted in a ‘pracademic’ outlook. Leisa currently lectures 350 students in Forensic Science at De Montfort University for the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences (CSFS) accredited undergraduate degree course.
For the last three years she has been nominated by her students for a DMU Vice Chancellor Distinguished Teaching Award. She is a DMU Teacher Fellow and a Senior Fellow. In 2018, Leisa was in the AdvanceHE CATE Spotlight award winning team CrashEd for interdisciplinary working. In the same year, Leisa was honoured to be awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust (WCMT) Travel Fellowship to investigate international approaches to knife crime to aid the UK response. She has a personal interest in Continual Professional Development and regularly attends national and international forensic science conferences, events, workshops and training courses. Forensic science is Leisa's lifelong passion and she feels privileged and honoured to continue working in this field, also sharing these experiences with her colleagues and students.
